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Did you miss last week's episode of Bones because your
husband insisted on watching the Big Game? Have you ever really
wanted to watch something, but didn't get the network it was on? Is
there an ongoing series you'd like to watch from the beginning? Is
there a show from the past you'd like to see again? I think we can
all answer 'yes' to at least one of these questions. In the past, the
response would be 'too bad, so sad', but the internet age has changed
that for the better. Between online videos and internet streaming,
you can find pretty much anything you want to watch. Many networks
put the latest episodes of their shows online, but there are several
other internet-based services that will show 'back episodes' and
other features. Here are a few ways you can catch up on your favorite
shows, or begin a new 'love affair' with a series. Many are free, and
the paid ones are worth the cost.
One of the most popular internet-based television services is
Hulu.com. It's a free service that allows you to stream various TV
shows-past or present-through the internet to watch on your computer.
While it's better for television series than it is for movies, it
does feature full-length films. The only drawback is that it can only
show a limited amount of episodes at a time, but that has more to do
with the original networks granting Hulu the rights than with the
service itself. There is a premium version called HuluPlus that
shows more episodes and that you can watch on mobile devices.
Overall, it's worth looking at.
If you can't find what you want on Hulu, you can still watch your
favorite shows for free by going to 'gateway sites'. I'm calling them
that because, while they do not actually host videos themselves, they
have a database that allows you to find many links to free episodes
in one place. Some of the more popular ones are CastTV, TvDuck,
Sidereel and Surfthechannel. The only possible drawback is that they
are supported by ads, which some people find annoying.
While many people only think of it in terms of movies, Netflix is
also an excellent way to watch a TV series from the beginning. For
instance, my husband had always been interested in the show Lost,
but missed the premier episode.
If you're at all familiar with the series, you know it's one of
those shows that you have to watch from the very beginning to be able
to understand what is going on. Since our Playstation 3 came with a
discounted subscription to Netflix, we were able to stream all six
seasons of the series. Believe me, I'm glad we did! I've also managed
to find shows like Dead Like Me that were on premium channels
I don't get, as well as documentaries and movies I'd never gotten to
see otherwise. While we're now paying 'regular price', the $8/month
price tag is well worth it! There is also a Netflix app for
iPod/iPhone that allows you to watch on mobile devices. For feature
films, Amazon.com has a Video-On-Demand service that allows you to
buy or rent movies around the same time they are released on DVD. If
you have iTunes, you can also buy or rent movies through that
service.
As you can see, the digital age has provided us with many
internet-based ways to catch up on our favorite TV shows. While they
are not all free-of-charge, you can easily get enough use out of them
to justify the cost. I know I do! Happy watching!